2XKO disappointed Riot Games, prompting the studio to cut developers responsible for the game

The League of Legends fighting game was released a few weeks ago.

Riot Games has announced the reduction of the development team for the fighting game 2XKO, based on League of Legends. The decision was made just weeks after the game's release from early access and its full release on consoles, which took place on January 21.

In an official statement, the studio explained that the free-to-play fighting game "did not reach the level of engagement necessary for long-term support of a team of this size." According to Executive Producer Tom Cannon, after analyzing player activity, it became clear that despite having a dedicated audience, the overall growth rate of the project was insufficient.

Cannon emphasized that the decision to make cuts was not easy. Riot Games promised affected employees either a transfer to other projects within the company or "a minimum of six months of pay and severance." The exact scale of the layoffs has not yet been disclosed, but former producer Patrick Miller wrote that he was fired "with 30 minutes' notice" after working on 2XKO in some form for almost ten years.

At the same time, Riot insists that reducing the team does not mean abandoning the game. According to Cannon, with a smaller but more focused team, the developers intend to focus on key improvements, including those actively requested by the community. The studio promises to share details of its plans in the near future.